The United States and Japan will step up their defence cooperation to deal with the threat from nuclear-armed North Korea as tensions in East Asia remain high, officials from the two allies said on Thursday.

Vic premier rules out health service cuts

Victorian Premier Denis Napthine has ruled out cutting services or increasing taxes to make up for federal health funding cuts, saying he will try to negotiate for more money.

His plan is to "shake the federal government from their top to their bottom" and to argue for Victoria to get a greater share of the GST.

He said the billions ripped out of funding for health in this year's budget won't bite until 2017.

"We have from between 2014 and 2017 to absolutely shake the federal government from their top to their bottom so they understand their responsibility to meet their share of public hospital payments," Dr Napthine told Fairfax Radio on Thursday.

Dr Napthine said the state budget would be delivered as read with no additional taxes.

"We will not be cutting services to Victoria and we are not going to increase taxes," Dr Napthine said.

The other part of the plan to avoid putting the cost of maintaining hospital services onto taxpayers is to get a larger cut of GST.

Mr Andrews said the state government had cut health spending and failed to allocate money to the Gonski education funding in its own budget last week.

He said the Victorian government was not taken by surprise by the funding cuts.

"There was no money in the state budget in relation to Gonski," he said.

Mr Andrews said Dr Napthine campaigned for Tony Abbott and he "can't have it both ways".

"Just a couple of weeks ago Denis Napthine was standing beside Tony Abbott announcing billions of dollars for a new toll road then on Tuesday Tony Abbott ... has taken billions of dollars out of hospitals and schools," Mr Andrews told reporters on Thursday.

"If he can find billions for toll roads why is that he can't find - he and Denis Napthine - why is it they can't find money for emergency departments?"

The government said it was investing an additional $1.4 billion in health in 2014 and a spokesman for the premier denied money had not been allocated for the Gonski education agreement.

Education Minister Martin Dixon said the government would deliver an additional $5.4 billion over six years as Victoria's share of the Better Schools funding arrangement.

He said there was $2.8 billion over five years in last week's state budget for school education.